Competition Structure

Registration for the competition starts in May and continues throughout the summer and fall to mid- October. The competition begins on the first school day in September and continues to the end of January, culminating in an all day judging event where the students experience the opportunity to deliver an engineering presentation. The competition has four phases:

1. Computerized design using SimCity 3000^TM Special Edition provided by Maxis
2. Physical scale-model of a section of the city
3. Essay on an engineering problem and an write and abstract about your city
4. Team presentation

Phase 1: Design City - September to November

The team designs its City of the Future using SimCity 3000^TM software provided by Maxis. The teams are required by the program to control the rate of development given the constraints present in building real cities (taxes, traffic congestion, pollution, etc.) and the time available. They are also assigned a specific engineering problem in the competition program around which they must develop their city.

During October there are local meetings to provide orientation for teacher and mentors.

After design work is completed, a copy of the computer file sent to the Regional Coordinator which will be used for judging of the maps in early January.

Phase 2: Build Model - November to January

The team builds a 30"x60"x24" high (max.) scale model of a section of their city. The model must contain at least one moving part, such as a transportation or communications component. If a power source is used, the power must be self-contained.

The team decides what materials to use to construct the model, such as Styrofoam, balsa wood, cardboard, clay or toothpicks. They have to be inventive as the total cost of the model and presentation is limited to $100. Soda bottles, L’eggs containers, candy boxes, empty cans and a variety of materials find their way into the models. Recycling is encouraged as much as possible.

Phase 3: Essay - November to January

The students will write two essays. One of these is a short abstract to describe their city and some of its services. The purpose of the abstract is to give the judges a quick overview of the design of their city.

The other essay is longer and must be researched with a bibliography of references It is based on the engineering problem assigned at the beginning of the competition. Develop an engineering solution to the engineering problem presented. Use and describe your design of the solution to the problem. It's not only okay to be futuristic, that is what the contest is all about - -but your solution must be based in engineering principles or design."

Phase 4: Competition Day - January

The student teams from all participating schools come together at a central location for an all day judging event. The students deliver a presentation to judges of engineers and planners discussing their city and its amenities. The maximum time for this presentation is 7 minutes and is timed at both the regional and national competitions. The students are also evaluated as a team on how well they can explain the design and function of their futuristic city. Students are encouraged to use flip chart or poster-sized materials to present their city to panels of judges.

Once the students have completed their presentation, they are questioned for an additional 8 minutes by the judges to determine the depth of their knowledge of their city and the engineering principles they have learned.

Competition Awards

All of the six finalists are provided certificates and savings bonds in decreasing amounts for first place, second place, third place and honorable mention (remaining three finalists). The first place team represents our region in the National Future City Competition in Washington, D.C. during National Engineers Week, held annually in February. There, they compete with teams from 31 other regional competitions around the counrty. They will be trying for one of the three national awards as well as a number of national special awards.

Our Philadelphia teams always placed in of the top five awards since we first participated in the competition in 1996. In 1999, our winning team from Our Lady Help of Christians School in Abington, PA went "all the way" and were the National Engineers Week Future City^TM champions.

Special Awards

In addition to the competition awards, there are a number of special awards provided by corporations, technical societies and individuals to schools showing excellence in special categories such as transportation, energy distribution, waste water treatment, manufacturing, fire protection and many others. These awards usually consist of savings bonds for the students and engraved plaques for all of the team members.

We have awarded up to 35 different special awards annually so that every team has the opportunity to win at least one award. The goal is to have the teams leave the competition feeling that they have been recognized for their efforts.